The Kite Runner

The word Hero is defined as “a person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life.” The main character and narrator, Amir, shows traits of heroism in the novel many times mostly near the second half of the novel when he risks is own safety to return to Afghanistan to aid his father’s sick friend, or when he selflessly gives Wahid’s children money and his own watch. On the other hand Amir also plays the role of Antihero. Antihero is defined as “a main character in a dramatic or narrative work who is characterized by a lack of traditional heroic qualities, such as idealism or courage.” Antiheroic traits are also portrayed in this novel by Amir when he does not stand up for himself and just allows Hassan to defend him. Also when he hides as his supposed best friend gets raped by the local bully. These two, usually contradicting statements and traits are put into somewhat of a perfect balance in this novel; I believe to show like Amir, humans are not perfect.

The first aspects of Amir’s character are at the beginning of the novel when he does not standing up for himself or his friend, Hassan. At the very beginning of the novel, when Amir and Hassam are throwing walnuts at the neighbour’s dog and they get caught, Amir allows Hassan to take all the blame even thought it was all his idea, which shows selfishness. Hassan also acts as Amir’s protector in the novel defending him from neighbourhood bullies. Amir’s father sees this and says “Sometimes I look out this window and I see him playing on the street with the neighbourhood boys. I see how they push him around; take his toys from him a shove here, a whack there. And, you know, he never fights back” (pg.23). One main trait which defines antihero is a person who lacks courage. Amir shows this lack of courage many times throughout the beginning of the novel. The first time is when Amir when the neighbourhood bully...

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Progressing Through Life
Progressing in life could be one of the most difficult things that a person will have to face during their lifetime. The troubles and problems that they encounter helps them to develop as a person, but also puts them through extraordinary pain. Denis Waitley a man known globally for counselling some of the world's most famous athletes, said a quote that could relate back to developing in life. He said "Don't dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer." In the novel The KiteRunner by Khaled Hosseini, developing as a person is portrayed in several different ways through the main character Amir. As a child Amir faced conflict between his father and himself mostly because he was trying to find a way to learn and connect with his father to help him figure out how he wants to live. As he enters his teenage years he experiences evil in this world first hand, something some people will never see. Learning to control himself and realize how to handle it is a major step for most people. Later when he enters adulthood he begins to take responsibility and puts others ahead of himself. Helping those who cannot help themselves is a considerate and remarkable thing to accomplish in life.
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The KiteRunner
The novel “The KiteRunner” by Khaled Hosseini surrounds itself with a central theme of human guilt. The story features Amir who is the son of a wealthy Kabul merchant and his servant Hassan who is a Hazara, a racially discriminated caste in Afghanistan. Despite being his servant, Hassan and Amir become inseparable best friends but after Amir abandons Hassan in his greatest time of need, Amir is consumed by an endless cycle of guilt. The following paragraphs will focus on the impact guilt has on Amir as a child, as a young adult and how he searches for freedom from his guilty conscious. As you will see Khaled Hosseini uses Amir’s character to expose the power of human guilt.
As a child, Amir's selfish nature dictates his actions in which he makes a decision that will impact him for the rest of his life and cause him to feel trapped in a cycle of guilt. Furthermore, as a child, Amir's way of dealing with his guilt is much different than how he deals with it as an adult. First, in the beginning of the novel, at the annual Kite fighting tournament, Amir prevails as the final kite flyer thus winning him the tournament. However, the tournament is not officially over until the second place kite has been ran (an expression for when kids chase after the second place kite until it reaches the ground and one kite...

...Alienation
The two books that have been examined thoroughly are the KiteRunner by Khalid Hussein and Parvana’s journey by Deborah Ellis. “They called him flat-nosed because of Ali and Hassan’s characteristic Hazara Mongoloid features.” (Hosseini 9) Being alienated from society through poverty and, the minority class, seems to be the most common way that alienation is portrayed. “It was comforting to have a mother taking care of her again too, cooking for her and taking care of her, even though it wasn’t my own mother.”(Ellis 18)Also the longing for love and affection from one’s family and acceptance from friends is summarized very well in both novels. In both novels the main characters are alienated from their friend or family. Amir from the KiteRunner is foreign from his father’s love, Hassan is alien to his friend’s love and acceptance, and Hassan and Ali are alienated form society for being from a lower cast. In Parvana’s journey Parvana is longing for her family, acceptance from her friend Asif and alienated from society because she is a girl.
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...Journal Prompts for The KiteRunner
Prompt #1 – Chapters 7, 8
What happens in Chapters 7 and 8? Explain in 3-5 sentences. You've just been looking at a poem by John Burnside called Penitence. How is the poem similar to the experience of Amir and Hassan? How is it different (apart from the obvious literal differences)? Comment on the poem's title. Is Amir penitent? Why or why not? What does this have to do with "atonement" which we discussed in Chapter I? If you could re-write this section of the novel, how would you do so? Why do you think Hosseini, the author, has his characters behave as they do?
Prompt #2 - Chapters 11, 12
Before agreeing to marry Amir, Soraya tells him about her "past." Imagine that Amir does the same. Write Amir's letter to Soraya, telling her what haunts his past. (Remember your audience.)
-OR-
Soraya and Amir both have difficult relationships with their fathers, in different ways. Contrast these differences by:
Explaining the causes of the strain and the fathers' behaviors
Explaining the response/behavior of the "child"
Effects on others in the novel
Evaluate who the better father is
Which father figure is most like your own?
Prompt #3 - Chapters 15-18
Complete the following sentences, considering these chapters:
I understand. . .
I don't understand...
I wonder...
Choose one of the three completed sentences and elaborate...

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In the book “The KiteRunner” by Khaled, the author continuously communicates Amir’s character which progresses and the way his personality changes throughout the book. Throughout this book his personality changes in a positive way overall and that stands out all the way to the end of this book. Amir’s personality changes in a few ways during the novel, he changes from a coward to being brave, a selfish child to a selfless adult, and from self-centered to responsible.
In this book it clearly demonstrates how Amir transforms from being a coward to being brave in a few situations. One particular situation that I noticed a change was when he watched his best friend Hassan being abused by bullies and he just stood there and watched like a coward and did nothing to help him or get involved at all. “In the end, I ran. I ran because I was a coward. I was afraid of Assef and what he would do to me. That’s what I told myself as I turned my back to the alley, to Hassan.”(Hosseini 77). Later on in this book he demonstrates bravery when he tells Soraya everything about his past and the situation with Hassan in the alley with the bullies where Hassan was raped and that he stood by and watched it happen. This is a huge step for Amir because for so many years he kept it to himself and never told anyone except his wife. Another situation in the book that demonstrates his change in personality is when he meets up
with Assef in Afghanistan where he...

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The KiteRunner
In “The KiteRunner” by Khaled Hosseini, Hosseini tells a story about Amir, a young boy from Kabul whose closest friend is a young Hazara boy named Hassan, who is also his servant. Amir witnesses a horrendous act committed against Hassan and he spends the next 26 years trying to forget what he saw that winter of 1975. Throughout the novel Amir narrates his own transformation, which is caused by all his guilt leaving his closest friend, Hassan vulnerable and the search for redemption. As Amir walks his readers through the novel, narrating his story and growth, there are notable contrasts between myself and the main character. Amir’s relationship with his father, his lack of confidence and his actions towards his only friendship are a few differences we hold.
My relationship with my Dad as a young child differs greatly from Amir’s relationship with his Father, Baba. Although there were six kids in the family, my Dad never fell short when it came to affection. After a long hard day at work and coming home almost passed six in the evening, Dad always had enough energy to spend time with each of us. We would play video games, watch television and spend the night giggling together. But Amir on the other hand felt deprived of an emotional connection with his Father, which he blames on himself. “I always felt like Baba hated me a little. And why not? After all, I had killed his beloved wife, his beautiful...

...The KiteRunner Essay People must sometimes defy the laws of society to overcome challenges in their path. In the novel, The KiteRunner authored by Khaled Hosseini, some characters face a lot of difficulties against the society in general. Hassan being a Hazara has constant opposition throughout his life. Baba finds a great change in his stature when he comes to America. Amir spends 26 years of his life keeping a secret that leads him to discovering many more secrets. Hassan faced a lot of challenges because he came from a social class that was considered inferior to the Pashtuns. Firstly, Hassan was always taunted by the society they lived in in Afghanistan. During a particular incident, a soldier calls to Hassan rudely, “You! The Hazara! Look at me when I’m talking to you!,” and insults him (Hosseini 7). Here Hassan is referred to simply as the Hazara and Hassan was often reminded of his social status. Secondly, Hassan’s friendship with Amir was not taken well by the people in the upper class who thought that their relationship should be nothing more than that of a master and servant. This is shown in Assef’s response, “Someday you’ll wake up from your little fantasy and learn just how good of a friend he is,” where Assef tells Hassan that he is only a servant and does not share any special relationship with Amir (Hosseini 77). This shows that it was difficult for Hassan to show the society that his relationship...

...Dorothy Campbell
M.A.L.S. Essay
The KiteRunner
by Khaled Hosseini
This essay will discuss the central themes of the book The KiteRunner, by Khaled Hosseini. Because the story is told at a time before the War on Terror, it brings the reader back to an Afghanistan the average American never knew existed and presents the current socio-economic reality of a United States one may choose to ignore. The description of Afghanistan before its many "occupations" is a tragedy in itself. The Author portrays a country on the cusp of greatness, which of course makes the inevitable future occupations all the more tragic. When Amir returns to Afghanistan after nearly twenty years, his shock is palpable. He has come back to an entirely different country, and only fragments remain from his past.
It is Amir's journey to redemption that is the premise of this tale. We see that he is essentially a good boy and man, but that he made serious mistakes in his quest for his father's love and attention. As a man, then, he is called to compensate the sins of his past and "do good again." His small successes provide the reader with a sense of familiarity as one faces the daily battle of what is right and what is easy.
The story begins in Afghanistan in the 1970s and spans over 20 years. It is told from the perspective of Amir, a rich Afghani boy who lives with his father and their Hazara (low caste Shi'a) servants. Amir, an...